Deana Logan

Sept 1, 1940 - Dec 24, 2020

The world lost a multitalented gem when Deana Logan, age 80, died peacefully at home in San Francisco on December 24, 2020. The cause was lymphoma. Her husband, Joseph Najpaver, was holding her hand, as was her son, Jeffrey Logan. Regrettably, because of COVID-19 no other family members were present.

Deana was a star from an early age, a trail blazer, student, teacher, lawyer and artist. She was also a daughter, sister and wife. Most importantly she was a mother and a grandmother. In 1956 while Deana was a 15 year old sophomore at Scottsdale, Arizona High School, an artist for The Saturday Evening Post, the popular national magazine, chose Deana to be the model for the illustration above. The drawing accompanied an article that was published on June 16, 1956. The artist chose Deana by sitting in the school’s cafeteria and watching the students, none of whom knew why he was there.

Also while in high school, Deana ventured onto untrodden ground by being chosen sports editor for the school newspaper and a prep sports correspondent for the biggest newspaper in Arizona, The Arizona Republic. She got the job by phoning to ask about it. As a columnist for the newspaper wrote about the highly unusual conversation: “One afternoon a bright voice piped over the telephone. ‘I’d like to speak to someone about the Scottsdale football correspondent’s job.’ ‘You sound like a girl.’ ‘I am.’ Some stammering followed at our end but we finally decided to give her a try.” This led to Deana winning multiple college scholarships.

In 1958 Deana enrolled at Arizona State University with the goal of becoming a sportswriter. Another newspaper reporter wrote, she “successfully invaded a man’s world by becoming a member of the university’s sports publicity bureau.” She was in the press box and on the sidelines at the university’s football and basketball games, as well as on the field at track events. In recognition of her accomplishments, Seventeen, the national magazine, recognized her as “Teen in the News.” It was no longer just “a man’s world.” In college, Deana changed plans to wanting to become a high school English teacher, eventually getting her bachelor’s degree in English in 1962. While in college she was president of the local chapter of Gamma Phi Beta sorority. The sorority is one of the ten oldest women’s organizations in North America and its motto is “Progress Through Education.” Deana began her career teaching English at Pinole Valley High School, while pursuing her own education further. In 1974 she was awarded a Ph.D. in educational psychology from her beloved University of California.

Yes, she was in the stands with her friends from The End Zone Gang in 1982 to see “The Play” when Cal beat archrival Stanford. In 1975 Deana began teaching as an associate professor of education at Holy Names College (now University) in Oakland. She enjoyed teaching, but with the help of her good friend, Alex Selvin, she became interested in final arguments in criminal trials, particularly capital murder trials because she passionately opposed capital punishment.

In 1980 Deana pursued this interest when she enrolled in the University of San Francisco School of Law. At the ripe young age of 40 she was a generation older than most of her classmates. This led to more major turns in Deana’s life, including meeting her future husband, Joe. While still a law school student in early 1983 Deana was hired by the Office of the Alameda County Public Defender to assist Joe and his colleague, William Muraoka, in a capital murder trial. Deana, Bill and Joe worked closely together during the highly stressful trial that lasted 9 months. This enabled Deana and Joe to get to know each other. In 1984 Deana earned her second doctoral degree, a J.D., when she graduated from Law School. True to form she passed the bar exam on her first try.

In early 1985 Deana and Joe began dating and were married on May 20, 1985, with a honeymoon that summer in England and Scotland.

After one year as an assistant public defender, Deana went into private practice where she specialized in jury selection and in finding and presenting mitigating evidence in capital murder trials. She became a much in demand lawyer who assisted other lawyers in preparing and trying capital trials throughout northern California. She also was a leader in the planning and presenting of capital defense training seminars for large groups of lawyers in California and across the country, from Airlie, Virginia to Louisville, Kentucky to New Orleans, Louisiana. Joe will forever be in awe of watching Deana speak to the challenging audience of 1,000 lawyers at the annual seminar at Asilomar, California. Deana was showered with praise by lawyers who worked with her, including: “The most brilliant and committed of the wonderful consultants doing serious death penalty work.” “Deana will always be a hero and a real inspiration. Her focus on what a jury needed to hear to understand your client, make him human, and not fear him, was an important leap that saved lives.” “She was brilliant with blinding legal skills.” Deana also spent many hours talking with clients on Death Row at San Quentin State Prison as she worked with lawyers who were seeking habeas corpus relief for those who had already been convicted and sentenced to death.

In 1992, after much very intense work on these cases, Deana chose to return to Holy Names College as a professor of psychology, thereby reuniting with her good friend, Judie Wexler. Deana was such a popular professor that each class of seniors chose her to speak at their respective graduation ceremonies. Unfortunately, because of increasing pain she had to retire early in the year 2000.

In 2001 Deana sought solace from the 9/11 attacks by becoming a member of Grace Cathedral.. For several years she was active as an usher and docent who led weekly tours of the Cathedral. Her thirst for knowledge and creative energy led to spending hundreds of hours studying all aspects of the art and architecture of the Cathedral, particularly the famous doors, “The Gates of Paradise,” one of only three worldwide copies of the original doors in Florence, Italy. Deana and Joe went to Florence and Venice in 2003, thereby enabling Deana to learn more about Gothic and Renaissance art and architecture, including studying Ghiberti’s original doors.

She eventually produced four large volumes of text and photos for use by other docents. The current Dean of the Cathedral, Malcolm Young, considers the volumes as “treasures” that he refers to on an almost weekly basis.

Deana lived her life by following and enjoying the motto of her college sorority, “Progress Through Education.”

As the years passed Deana’s pain became more intense resulting in her having to gradually withdraw from activities, be they at Grace Cathedral or travel and family gatherings. She also had to stop attending arts performances at the San Francisco Ballet, American Conservatory Theater, the San Francisco Opera and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, (OSF) in Ashland, Oregon. Going to OSF with grandsons Kiran and Nathan and their families had been a source of real joy for Deana. This pattern of inability to attend events continued until her death.

Deana was born on September 1, 1940, as the eldest of four children, in Phoenix, Arizona to Albert and Elizabeth (Boring) Dorman. At age 10 the family moved to nearby Scottsdale where she continued to live until she entered college in 1958. She married Donn Logan with whom she had twin sons, Lindsey and Jeffrey.

The family eventually settled in the Berkeley hills where they were blessed by friendship with four families of really good neighbors, Burt and Judy Calder, Murray and Betty Cohen, Helen and Joe Laird and Margaret and Tony Rienzi, plus numerous children.

Deana is survived by her husband, Joe; son Lindsey Logan, and grandson Kiran Logan, as well as Kiran’s mother, Cassia Stepak, (Anthony Ndirango); son Jeff Logan (Liza Pannozzo) and grandson Nathan Logan; brother Larry Dorman (Billie Knight); brother James Dorman (Dale); and sister Susan Pollard (David); all of the Bay Area; 3 nieces and 2 nephews; cousin John Rawls (Dawn); and former husband, Donn Logan.

Joe and the rest of the family would like to give particular thanks to Dr. Stephanie Cheng of UCSF Symptom Management and Dr. Jessica Safra and the staff of Hospice by the Bay for the care that Deana received at the end of her life.

Donations may be made in Deana’s memory to the UCSF Cancer Center’s Greatest Needs Fund. If by mail, UCSF Foundation, PO Box 45339, San Francisco 94145, by phone at 877-499-8273 or online at giving.ucsf.edu.